Results tagged “Wendy Enelow” from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters Tips Blog

In response to a question about common mistakes in cover letters, Phyllis Korkki said, “A cover letter with typos, misspellings and poor sentence structure may take you out of the running for a job. If you cannot afford to pay someone to review your cover letter and résumé, enlist a friend or a family member with good language skills to do it instead.

Korkki continues:

Another misguided thing people do is to make the cover letter all about them: “I did this, I’m looking for, I want to … I, I, I.” Structure your letter so that it stresses the company and what you can do to help it reach its goals, [experts] said.

Korkki cites well-known career-management expert Wendy Enelow for the advice to avoid including too much information — for example, very specific salary or geographic requirements. Enelow also told Korkki that it is also unwise to point out that you do not meet all the criteria in the job description. You can deal with that later, if you get an interview. Hiring managers are looking for ways to exclude you as they narrow down their applications. Do not give them that ammunition.

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Think most hiring managers don’t read cover letters? The perception that cover letters aren’t important anymore is likely fed by the fact that some online job boards don’t have a mechanism for submitting cover letters. But a study by CareerBuilder.com of 290 hiring managers across the U.S. revealed that 66 percent prefer an appropriate cover letter with the resume. Since you don’t know which two-thirds of hiring managers like cover letters and which third don’t, you need to always include a cover letter with your resume.

Further breaking down that 66 percent, Wendy Enelow, founder of the former Career Masters Institute (now the Career Management Alliance) points out that 33 percent of all recipients ALWAYS read the cover letter first; the other 33 percent glance at the cover letter after they’ve read the resume. Therefore, says Enelow, “Your letter must immediately communicate your value to an organization, for you never know which 33 percent will receive it.”

For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.